rainy days in hokitika

through my experiences so far traveling in n zed, i have learned never to believe a forecast. more than likely the weather man is close, but if you watch channel 3 six o'clock news and weather then switch to channel 1 afterwards, you may hear two different meteorological predictions.
over the past few days, philly and i have enjoyed a wonderful christmas here in hokitika, the local crowd we have fallen in with due to kayaking connections has been more than hospitable in welcoming us and our foreign holiday recipes: jj's pumpkin pie and the collaborative effort at sweet potato (kumara substitute) casserole were both big hits.
the windy and wet weather spoiled plans for multi day heli adventures for just after the holidays but opened a window of opportunity for a river with road access: falls creek. falls creek is a tributary to the hokitika river; just south of town turn off on a rough gravel road, drive deep in the bush, check the level at the bridge, suit up and you're off on one of n zed's classics.
philly and i were the two "falls creek virgins" in our crew of five: marty, local legend and first decent team member; jj, transplanted local; and eden, kiwi paddling legend in the making. the run features some great gorges that we found in on and off drizzle from the consistently grey clouds over our heads.

philly, exiting the first major section, the bridge gorge, with eden and marty looking on

photo by mw

further down the river here's jj firing into "chernobyl"

photo by mw

eden on is way to avoiding a meltdown at "chernobyl"

photo by mw

the excitement didn't end in the flow. just near the end of the run, we were out with our ropes, locking carabeaners, and webbing for a repel

photo by mw

after that portage, we were just a few rapids above the final drop of the run, "bellaflop": named after Dean Arthur's dog, Bella, who accompanied the scouting mission prior to the first decent, and like all members of that hike jumped this waterfall:
marty, committed

photo by mw

eden same

photo by mw


philly, still glad to be in new zealand

photo by mw

jj same

photo by mw

stay tuned for more exciting adventures. same blog time, same blog channel...

motu river

welcome to my coverage of last weekends trip down the motu river.
the motu flows out the of east cape of the north island of new zealand, a rugged wilderness area just down the coast from the beaches of the bay of plenty.
the motu crew consisted of two parties: downstream and upstream, who would meet up on the second official day of the trip.

here's downstream enjoying their second day of excellent weather still inside the lower gorge of the motu:

photo by mw

sophe hastening the cooking after her long day catching up from her and brendan's put-in above the upper gorge

photo by mw

nick and evan bedding down at first night's camp:

photo by maria noakes

the downstream crew travelled first via helicopter to a suitable put-in below the upper gorge of the motu, then by raft and kayak through a day and a half of blue water, steep canyon walls, sandy beaches and lazy lunches to meet the upstreamers who hired a x-special forces jet boat driver to bring them up river.
the resulting camp was like nothing i had ever seen before: no age groups excluded, family friendly atmosphere, refugee camp decor...

photo by maria noakes

on the third day parents and young ones stole away in a raft, claiming a jar of peanut butter and a triumphant escape from a beach of chaos to a floating rubber island of chaos.
nick relishing the excitement and easy travel of a rafting trip:

photo by mw

the scene on the beach prior to their departure: "has anyone seen my...."

photo by mw

a last look as raft day care descends into the unknown

photo by mw

i am down on the west coast now with philly bear, who yesterday experienced his first heli-supported river trip.

photo by mw

we are enjoying the scenic sights...

photo by philly williams

and wish the sun well as it leaves here on it's way west to our friends and family.

photo by philly williams

left is right

photo by wayne crawford

just a quick note to say that the "right" side of the road isn't always what it seems, but stay sharp and you should find the way.
lots of happenings here in the southern hemisphere: adventures of all sorts in an extraordinary place.
i have thought much of my family and friends while i've been here and look forward to putting up a nice long proper blog post; so stay tuned for tales of the exciting motu river-three-day-many-children adventure.
many happy salutations.
deep south frowsk.


photo by mefford williams

out of asia

on my last day in korea, after organizing my bags for the final plane trip towards my southern hemisphere summer home, i headed down underneath the streets to travel in style on the seoul subway.
with my frequent rider's card, i cruised all around during my visit: east seoul, west seoul, north and south of the han river, holiday backpackers, traditional restaurants, buddhist temples, and the yo young spa (twice).

user friendly public trans:

photo by mefford williams

my lonely planet guide book (choice birthday present aunt amy and uncle jules. thanks much) had a subway map, and that was pretty much all I needed to get anywhere within the city my heart or stomach desired. 800 Wan per ride < US $1, and you're off. the trains come by each stop pretty frequently; the most i ever had to wait was four minutes; so it's super ADD friendly. with cell phone translators inside the subway tunnels, every other korean on the train would be chatting it up, while the rest were just thinking of who to call next.

on my last day i set off to visit the top of the many peaks that surround and divide the city. seoul is asian for smog; so the granite hill tops loom around the city like grey shadows behind the skyscrapers
up close their natural beauty contrasts that of the noisy metropolis just below:

photo by mefford williams
you can just see some of the trail's railing on the right at the top of the ridge.

access to the hilltop hiking trails comes from various locations around the city, i walked up through a small buddhist temple community off of the "dongnimmun" exit from subway line 3. no photos as i wasn't sure about how respectful whitie photographer would be in this sacred neighborhood.
once beyond the religious quarter, you begin to climb and traverse your way up and away:
stairs and rails make up the steep sections of the trail; helpful signs remind you not to fall off the side:

photo by mefford williams

getting a last look before a hike down to my rapidly approaching departure flight:

photo by mefford williams

i really enjoyed my time in seoul. quite a hustly bustly big city, but an extraordinary place nonetheless.
even in a city of over 10 million, the friendly locals go out of their way to make you feel welcome. so don't think that they don't notice or care as they bump you out of the way getting on or off the subway or ignore your "annyeoung haseo" while cutting you in line at the bakery.
i was even thrown a nice little going away party. cheers guys. pour the saki.

photo by mefford williams

i followed up my last day's hike with a visit to my favorite korean establishment: the yo young spa for the frowski quad: shower, sauna, hot soak, cold soak.
many happy thoughts and best wishes to all members of the blogging family.
more soon from the far south.

annyeong haseyo

gyeongbokgung palace, seoul.

photo by mefford williams

the title of this blog post "annyeong haseyo" is my korean pick-up line. it's a good one. it means "hello". one of the four things i know how to say in korean.
i don't really know how to judge my line's affectiveness yet: so far if the korean women folk are able to return the greeting over their own laughter, i am pretty darn pleased.
ashley strickland was right: I stand out here. i have noticed the locals doing a bit of a double take when they see me walk by, and that's what i have been doing with most of my time in korea. walking. relaxing in the big city of seoul waiting for my bags to show.
well, they are finally here. i have my korean electrical plug adapter, and now a blog post as i prepare to bolt out of the big city and onto adventures elsewhere in this very new place.

in my cruising around i had a chance to stop by medieval korea to watch a parade. these festivities were taking place within the gyeongbokgung palace: this huge palace takes up about three city blocks right in some of downtown's most valuable realestate. the grounds have quite a storied history, and at virtually every major period in korean history since their middle ages (1400's), this palace has been torn or burned down and subsequently rebuilt.

photo by mefford williams

while touring the grounds of the castle i had a chance to practice my line with the woman in the background. after "annyeoung haseyo", she started to talk rapidly to me in korean, with a smile; encouraged, i spoke back in english. i was gesticulating with my camera in my hand, and a korean man grabbed my camera and gestured. i guess he assumed that i was propositioning the women to take my picture for me.

photo by korean dude bra
gamsa hamnida (thanks) for the photo and good block buddy.

koreans have different rules about personal space than westerners. if i get into a conversation, in english or korean, that goes beyond three interchanges, i get touched on the forearm or shoulder. alot.
the first couple of times this took place i thought i was going to be pick pocketed, but that hasn't happened yet; so i gues i'm touchable.

the other korean adventure of note so far was a trip to the demilitarized zone between north and south korea. a nice touristy field trip in a very up-tight military environment. to make a long story short, that far building and small but serious looking communist dude are as close to north korea as you can get:

photo by mefford williams
notice the south korean soldier on the right, hiding halfway behind the wall; so he is harder to shoot.

that's the love for now. i'm off to the spa and to enjoy some local brews. stay tuned for some pictures of food and life outside the big city.
bring your big won.

photo by mefford williams

el segundo

photo by rock and roll magnolia

welcome back. it's been quite a blogging long time since a new post was up. after a hiatus, the adventures continue in new and familiar places.
alot of blog soul searching took place after my last post and time spent in asheville. to blog is to create, and most of all i missed creating a format to share my pictures and my words.
be sure to stay tuned. same blog time. same blog channel.

vote for my mispelled name.

dwd

photo by nate elliot

yesterday ashley strickland and i charged through penstock production's first day without daniel wright delavergne: a boss, a friend, and our inspiration. The work has just begun, and we look forward to the future excited, hopeful, and determined. The majority of my experiences with Daniel were not on the river, but in his living room: the penstock productions office suite. So as always, I hope to make him proud.


photo by mefford williams

the last of this new zealand adventure

Our New Zealand adventure is over.
Looking back.


NICE! (with a kiwi accent)

photo by Shanna Powell

SWEET AS!


photos by Shanna Powell



I had a great time everyone. Thanks for coming along. I miss you Mefford!
Maybe more soon.

get into it

So much has happened and no blog update. Away from the computers, but images and stories are ready for sharing. Hope everyone is doing well and stay tuned for an update soon.

photo by shanna powell

getting around new zealand

Our New Zealand adventure is in full swing. We started our trip in Christchurch picking up a car from Beth and Albert, a very nice couple who let us spend the night.

Car number 1

photo by Mefford Williams

From Christchurch we drove over Arthur’s Pass to Hokitika to meet up with Nick, Maria, Dominique and Mateo. Here is Dominique in action.

Nick…What now?

photo by Mefford Williams

Our first car blew a head gasket so we sold it to the automechanic and bought this one in town. Guess who took that photo.

photo by Mefford Williams

Maria took us kayaking on the Arahura, this was our first New Zealand heli-run. Well, our first ever heli-run. It was awesome!

fully loaded

photo by Mefford Williams

unloading

photo by Mefford Williams

on the river…

here is the crew scouting. Wow! 3 ladies, 2 men. Bizarre

photo by Mefford Williams

Here is Maria in action.

photo by Mefford Williams

This is me at Curtain call.

photo by Mefford Williams

Alan our guide running a big one.

photo by Mefford Williams

Mefford had awesome lines everywhere but he was holding the camera so no photos of him.

Here is Mefford on the first rapid of the upper Kakapatahi. Mefford’s kayak photo moment.

photo by Shanna Powell

We spent almost 2 weeks in Hokitika and paddled many days, getting on quite a few different stretches of river. Everyday was an adventure whether it was…

driving…through mud

photo by Mefford Williams

hiking…with kayaks or not

photo by Mefford Williams

or farming…cows?

photo by Mefford Williams

We would drive until the mud holes got too bad, then hike our boats to the river, paddle and “LOOK OUT FOR THE COWS” on the way home.

From Hokitika Mefford and I drove south to Queenstown to do some kayaking, but mainly trekking. We hiked the Caples-Greenstone track that was a 4 day loop with New Zealand’s famous huts to stay in.

Relaxing after a long day.

photo by Mefford Williams

Mefford on the saddle.

photo by shanna Powell

Moving along on the saddle.

photo by Mefford Williams

It was awesome with quite a variety of terrain and beautiful weather. Just what I needed.

photo by Mefford Williams

Confluence of the Caples and the Greenstone rivers.

photo by Mefford Williams

From Queenstown, your fearless crew made their way up the east coat to Christchurch.

It’s a long drive.

photo by Shanna Powell

yes, ladies and gentlemen, that is our laundry drying.

Mefford wasn’t as into the car photos as I was.

photo by Shanna Powell

We stopped off at the Rangitata river which is in the Peel Forest area, a little detour before Christchurch. Mefford was pretty insistent that he paddle that day so we put on with the plan that he was going to “run” shuttle, but not with the car. From the takeout to the car was like 20 kilometers, which converts to somewhere around 12 miles. 4 hours and 12 miles later, Mefford showed up with the car around 9:00pm. I was beginning to think I might spend another night out on the river. The interesting thing is that while I was waiting for Mefford, a raft guide drove down to the takeout with his parents and asked why we didn’t just paddle up to the rapids from the takeout. I was amused by the incident, and have an idea for a book of sorts. The things some paddlers will do.

Me waiting for my knight in red to arrive.

photo by Shanna Powell

We spent that night in the campground in the forest and went to hike the big tree trail after Mefford hiked his morning kayak session from the takeout up.

1000 year old Totara tree.

photo by Mefford Williams

Hugging another tree for dad.

photo by Mefford Williams

playing footsie?

photo by Mefford Williams

Now we are in Christchurch for a few days to see the city. It was only supposed to be 2 days, but the car broke down. The story of our life. I changed the sparkplugs today and Mefford is still working on the back wheel, brake fluid leak, problem.

That’s the one, under the thumb.

photo by Shanna Powell

“The best part about owning your own shop is you get to wear whatever you want.”- Mefford Williams self proclaimed “In house automechanic” He borrowed all of the tools.

photo by Shanna Powell

We are really appreciative of Linda and Phelpsy for letting us work on the car in the street, use the phone, facilities, the house as an office and sleep here. January 28, 2006 we will be boarding a ferry at 10:00pm for the North Island. More again soon.
Cheers!